President Obama has pushed through the first installment of a pledged $3 billion from the cabinet to help poor countries fight climate change.

The first chunk of change went to the Green Climate Fund, an international body created to assist developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change.

The effects of climate change often hit the world’s poor the hardest. Millions of the poorest families around the world are farmers, suffering from the devastating effects of harmful emissions affecting local climates. This could sink those families even deeper into poverty, yet they are typically the ones least at fault for the rising levels of emissions such as carbon dioxide.

The $500 million is part of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which is aimed at cutting U.S. carbon emissions in order to fight climate change. The first transaction shows that the cabinet is committed to delivering on its pledge made at the United Nations’ climate change conference in Paris in late 2014.

“The United States provided a $500 million grant to the Green Climate Fund,” a State Department official said. “This grant is the first step toward meeting the president’s commitment of $3 billion to the GCF, and shows that the United States stands squarely behind our international climate commitments.”

Not only does this payment help enact measures to fight climate change, President Obama also hopes it will act as a signal to the national and international community after the supreme court block a major piece of the cabinet’s climate plan last month.

An important innovation is the optimized interface between gas, fluid and copper particles, allowing the very efficient supply of CO2 and removal of the product, CO.
Image: University of Twente

In an effort to convert carbon dioxide into carbon dioxide, researchers have developed an electrode in the form of a hollow porous coper fiber that completes this transformation at an extremely efficient level.

The researchers, including ECS member Marc T.M. Koper, believe that this development could give the industrial industry an edge, where it would be extremely beneficial for chemical processes that require gas conversion.

(MORE: Read additional research by Koper.)

The process is not confined to the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, however. Because the manufacturing method is suited for other fibers, it could also be applied to the conversion of oxygen in a fuel cell or hydrogen conversion in the electrochemical production of ammonia.

While the principal idea behind the process is straightforward, the efficiency and selectivity of the reaction is the surprising factor.

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There is no doubt that women have made an immense impact on the sciences. From Marie Curie to Esther Takeuchi, women have made outstanding contributions to innovation, research, and technology.

In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating by (briefly) highlighting a few women who have changed STEM.

Marie Curie

A list of pioneering women in STEM would be incomplete if it did not include the extraordinary Marie Curie. Her inspiring story and discovery or radium helped pave the way to inspire many future women in STEM. Curie was the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, and the only person to win in multiple sciences.

Irene Joliot-Curie

Continuing the work of her mother Marie Curie, Irene Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935 for the synthesis of new radioactive elements. Her work included the study of natural and artificial radioactivity, transmutation of elements, and nuclear physics. Joliot-Curie’s work lead to research by German physicist that eventually resulted in the discovery of nuclear fission.

Lili Deligianni

Lili Deligianni’s innovative work in chemical engineering has led to cutting-edge developments in chip technology and thin film solar cells. She has been with ECS for many years, currently serving as the Society’s secretary. Her current research interests in the development of materials for low power on-chip converters and thin film solar cells are game changing technologies that could have applications in solar panel sand electric cars.

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35 years of service

In this episode of the ECS Podcast, we’re celebrating Executive Director Roque J. Calvo’s 35th anniversary with the Society. Through hard-work and a clear vision, Calvo has helped transform the Society into what it is today.

In honor of Roque celebrating his 35th year with ECS, we thought we would interview him for a change.

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher.

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Recent Progress in Renewable Energy Generation, Distribution, and Storage

PRiME 2016 | Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 | Honolulu, Hawaii

Our meetings team was just in Hawaii prepping for PRiME!
See more here.

The ECS Electrochemical Energy Summit (E2S) brings together policy makers and researchers as a way of educating attendees about the critical issues of energy needs and the pivotal research in electrochemical energy that will impact our planet’s sustainability.

The 6th International ECS Electrochemical Energy Summit will focus around Recent Progress in Renewable Energy Generation, Distribution, and Storage.

(MORE: Watch presentations from the 5th International E2S.)

The program will include keynote presentations and remarks from DOE, NEDO, KIER, and the Hawaii State Energy Office followed by a poster session showcasing research, advancements, and technologies within the clean energy sector. There will be networking opportunities and associated receptions.

Chair

Boryann Liaw, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute

Organizers

Adam Weber, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Hiroyuki Uchida, University of Yamanashi
Won-Sub Yoon, Sungkyungkwan University
Mark Glick, Hawaii State Energy Administrator

Interested in participating in the E2S Poster Session?

The poster session Z03 is designed to provide a platform of networking with other scientists, technologists, stakeholders and policy makers through information exchange and live discussion. The session welcomes contributions from private or governmental organizations, research groups, and industrial manufacturing and service providers that are engaging in the renewable energy technology and business development, implementation or promotion and interesting in sharing their work, ideas, and results with the participants of the PRiME 2016 meeting.

Submit your E2S poster abstract by April 15, 2016 at
https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/230/cfp.cgi

Image: AlexanderAIUS

Graphene is at it again, outperforming all known materials (including superconductors) in a recent study testing the transmission of high frequency electrical signals.

The researchers found that when the electrical signals pass through graphene, none of the energy is lost – opening the door to a new realm of electrical transmission.

This from the University of Plymouth:

And since graphene lacks band-gap, which allows electrical signals to be switched on and off using silicon in digital electronics, academics say it seems most applicable for applications ranging from next generation high-speed transistors and amplifiers for mobile phones and satellite communications to ultra-sensitive biological sensors.

Read the full article.

“An accurate understanding of the electromagnetic properties of graphene over a broad range of frequencies (from direct current to over 10 GHz) has been an important quest for several groups around the world,” said Shakil Awan, leader of the study. “Initial measurements gave conflicting results with theory because graphene’s intrinsic properties are often masked by much larger interfering signals from the supporting substrate, metallic contacts and measurement probes. Our results for the first time not only confirm the theoretical properties of graphene but also open up many new applications of the material in high-speed electronics and bio-sensing.”

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With a robust career in academia, Daniel Scherson has touched many aspects of science and worked with many notable pillars of electrochemistry. From his work on nonlinear, non-equilibrium thermodynamics with Joel Keizer to his work with Heniz Gerischer and Dieter Kolb at the Fritz Haber Institute — Scherson’s career has been shaped by some of the leaders in the field.

He joined Case Western Reserve University in 1983, where his research focuses on bettering device such a fuel cells, batteries, and electrosynthetic reactors. Scherson has been featured by many for the development of the “cyborg cockroach” that produces energy.

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher.

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Image: ReubenGBrewer

An interdisciplinary team, including 32 year ECS member Stuart Licht and ECS student member Matthew Lefler, has developed a way to make electric vehicles that are not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative – capable of reducing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide as they operate by transforming the greenhouse gas.

By replacing the graphite electrodes that are currently being used in the development of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars with carbon materials recovered from the atmosphere, the researchers have been able to develop a recipe for converting collected carbon dioxide into batteries.

This from Vanderbilt University:

The team adapted a solar-powered process that converts carbon dioxide into carbon so that it produces carbon nanotubes and demonstrated that the nanotubes can be incorporated into both lithium-ion batteries like those used in electric vehicles and electronic devices and low-cost sodium-ion batteries under development for large-scale applications, such as the electric grid.

Read the full article.

The research is not the first time scientists have shown progress in collecting and converting harmful greenhouse gases from the environment.

Typically, carbon dioxide conversion revolves around transforming the gas into low-value fuels such as methanol. These conversions often do not justify the costs.

(MORE: Read “Carbon Nanotubes Produced from Ambient Carbon Dioxide for Environmentally Sustainable Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes.“)

However, the new process produces better batteries that are not only expected to be efficient, but also cost effective.

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Looking to save on electricity? Why not use bioluminescent bacteria to light the way?

Innovative start-up Glowee is looking to do just that to illuminate the streets of Paris. By using bacteria found in squid, Glowee is producing lights that consist of transparent gases filled with a gel containing the bioluminescent bacteria alongside the sugars and oxygen they need to survive.

Currently, the company is looking to increase lifespan and efficiency before implementing the technology.